Sentence: Life without parole for 18-year-old

Krempetz says he wants to appeal decision.

Krempetz says he wants to appeal decision.

March 31, 2006|YONIKA WILLIS Tribune Staff Writer

GOSHEN -- Eighteen-year-old Spenser Krempetz will have the rest of his life to reflect on the night of Aug. 4, when he took the life of his girlfriend's mother, Barbara Keim. Elkhart Circuit Court Judge Terry Shewmaker sentenced the Middlebury teen to life in prison without parole Thursday for the murder. Krempetz pleaded guilty to the crime March 10. He said in a sentencing hearing Monday that he carried out the murder plan, in which Keim was abducted, taken to a cornfield and shot in the head by Krempetz, because the girl he loved wanted him to. Krempetz said in court Thursday that he wants to appeal the sentence. Keim's family said that since the death penalty wasn't an option, they were satisfied with the sentence. "We will never understand why our sister was taken from us in such a violent and senseless manner," the family said in a written statement given to The Tribune. "We want everyone to know what a beautiful person Barb was inside and out. As a nurse, she devoted her life to helping others." Robert Keim, Barbara Keim's ex-husband and father of their 5-year-old son, Timmy, spoke in court on his son's behalf. "Timmy will never have the opportunity to snuggle with his mother like a son needs," Robert Keim said to Krempetz. "It's so unfair that I have to raise a 5-year-old in this society without a mother. There's been several times when he's waken up in the middle of the night screaming, 'Where's Mommy?' " Excerpts from a 127-page autobiographical account of Krempetz's life, titled "Starvation Trip," were read in court at Monday's sentencing hearing. In the account, Krempetz outlines the details of 41-year-old Keim's final moments. He asked Shewmaker Thursday to read the full autobiography before the sentencing to get an accurate portrayal of who he is. "At some point, it appeared you turned to drugs, alcohol and sexual rebellion to cope," Shewmaker said after reading the book. "It appears you missed your family, and Hannah Stone (Keim's daughter and Krempetz's girlfriend) became your family." Shewmaker said it appeared Krempetz was extremely bright and intelligent and had a talent for writing, but he also had a fascination with death and wrote about spending a night in a mausoleum. "Taking a life seemed to fascinate you," Shewmaker said. "You wanted to see and know what it was like. You wanted to know if God would deliver Barbara Keim from evil." The other two teens charged in the murder, Aaron McDonald, 18, and 18-year-old Stone, already have pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced April 13.Staff writer Yonika Willis: ywillis@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6556